Coast Guard nabs drugs floating off Mission Beach

More than 70 bales of marijuana discovered

The Coast Guard confiscated 77 bales of marijuana – a weight of roughly 3,200 lbs – found floating off the coast of Mission Beach on Wednesday, federal officials said.

A Navy helicopter spotted the bales floating approximately 30 nautical miles west of Mission Bay and notified the Coast Guard station in San Diego.

A Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter crew and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Blackhawk helicopter crew assisted a Coast Guard cutter in finding most of the drugs. A small-boat crew from the Coast Guard station rendezvoused with the cutter to recover the remaining bales.

The drugs have been slated for disposal. The source of the bales isn’t known.

A Coast Guard spokeswoman said the federal maritime agency won’t name which cutter was involved.